Overclocking

landbeforetimelover · **on:** July 12, 2009, 11:39:34 PM

I'm curious about your opinions on overclocking. What do you think about it? Is it worth it? Have you ever done it or ever considered doing it? I have a full blown e8400 core2duo processor in my main master. It currently runs at 3.0ghz. I could overclock this sucker to a whopping 4.4ghz if I added a different cooler. I've decided not to do it. I've overclocked many times, but I don't overclock my own machines anymore. I only overclock when explicitly asked to do so by a client (who's usually a gamer). Coincidentally, I overclocked an e8400 processor today for a client. I only went to 4.0ghz because he didn't want to take the risks to go to 4.4ghz. The e8000 series are amazingly good overclockers.

I remember when I overclocked a 400mhz Celeron to 600mhz. It was my first overclock. Of course the processor burnt up after 6 months. I did something wrong with the voltages and the only reason it lasted so long was because I didn't use that computer too much. Am I afraid to overclock? Not really. There's always some risk, but I have the client sign a liability release form before I agree to overclock their system. Having an overclock be "stable" isn't the issue. Regardless what these seasoned overclockers claim, there's always some risk of shortening the life of your processor. You can 100% safely overclock a 3.0ghz e8400 to 3.1ghz because Intel automatically dumbs down the speed a bit to conform to certain standards, but anything more than that and you're taking a big risk.

I don't believe in overclocking my own machines, though I admit that if I used them for things like gaming I might feel differently. People say it's a "shame" when someone owns an e8000 series processor and doesn't overclock it, but personally I don't have a reason to do so. Sure it'd be nice to have a 4.4ghz core2duo machine but I bought my computer to LAST. That's why I made sure it could handle 16gb of ram. This machine will last a long time and it's not worth it to overclock in my opinion. What about you? What are your views on overclocking?

Alex · **Reply #1 on:** July 13, 2009, 12:05:26 AM

I've never done it, never will. Don't need to. Knowing myself, I'd mess something up anyway. Although it would be cool to see how much better my video card could get.

pokeplayer984 · **Reply #2 on:** July 13, 2009, 12:55:25 AM

I don't even know how to do that. I most likely don't have to though. There's a good chance that I just don't need it.

DarkHououmon · **Reply #3 on:** July 13, 2009, 01:28:51 AM

I never tried it and, frankly, I don't want to. I've heard of the risks of overclocking.

Kor · **Reply #4 on:** July 13, 2009, 01:55:52 AM

I never have and I never will. It's a pretty complicated thing from what I've heard about it.

Serris · **Reply #5 on:** July 13, 2009, 02:12:56 AM

I have no need for it and I'd rather not ruin my computer.

The Dark Patriot · **Reply #6 on:** July 13, 2009, 06:33:59 AM

I never have, and most likely won't on my main computer - a 2.4GHz quad-core is good enough for me atm. Eventually, though, I might buy something cheap to play around with - I like experimenting with things.

Petrie. · **Reply #7 on:** July 13, 2009, 07:14:21 AM

My computer is fast enough as it is so overclocking is pointless in this day and age. Might have been a novelty in those 400mhz days, but its really pointless to do so on core duos and core quads.

landbeforetimelover · **Reply #8 on:** July 13, 2009, 04:31:05 PM

Quote

overclocking is pointless in this day and age. Might have been a novelty in those 400mhz days, but its really pointless to do so on core duos and core quads.

There's about half a million gamers who would disagree with you there. Overclocking is very useful for gaming. When you need to push the max out of your computer in order to handle the latest and greatest, sometimes factory specs just aren't adequate. There's one game out there that was released too soon. It says it requires an e8400 or better but in reality it runs like crap on a non overclocked e8400. I can't remember the name of that game....a little help here gamers?

Tyrannosaur · **Reply #9 on:** July 14, 2009, 05:07:20 AM

ive toyed with the idea, and have done it in small doses.

i dont really have the patience to get a really good overclock though. as it can take hours, if not days to determine if the settings you use are stable.

Petrie. · **Reply #10 on:** July 14, 2009, 07:39:21 AM

Well gamers obviously have money to burn if they're going to spend $3000 for a machine they might blow up because they push it to the limit. Can't say its the smartest thing to do.

Kor · **Reply #11 on:** July 14, 2009, 07:33:09 PM

There are some gamers who only want bleeding edge hardware and want to overclock on top of that. Then there are some who don't really feel the need to have bleeding edge hardware. Something for everyone.

landbeforetimelover · **Reply #12 on:** July 14, 2009, 07:40:27 PM

Yeah, I know tons of gamers who've built $4k gaming machines and STILL overclocked their CPU's and GPU's. They've got lots of money to spend on crap like that. I wish my problems were as simple as that.

Loofah · **Reply #13 on:** July 15, 2009, 11:07:01 AM

I made a test with the Game "Crysis". I overclocked my AMD Phenom 940 from 3,0 to 3,6 GHZ, ( couldn¥t do more without changing any Voltage Setting). At the end the Game is running around 1 FpS faster. With other word¥s, OC is useless. I think it¥s more like a challange for some Gamers to get the most Points in any Benchmark. When you will play a Game good and fast you need the right Graphic Card. And not a 900$ or Overclocked CPU.

action9000 · **Reply #14 on:** July 15, 2009, 12:24:51 PM

Aye, for gaming, overclocking video cards will help. Overclocking a half-decent CPU when playing games in high resolutions will do almost nothing. Naturally, the higher the resolution you're running the game in, the more video card processing power you'll need, but the demand on the CPU doesn't change significantly. Any dual-core machine will typically have a fast enough CPU for basically any game. From there, it's all in the video card.